MennoLink Books and Music

"After the elation of giving birth
our new daughter fed and sleeping,
I stand under the warm water
And begin on the high notes-
Madame Butterfly's ecstasy,
Sliding over my body.

After the loss of his bride,
Our friend turns on the guestroom
Shower and begins his long wailing.
It echoes through the house,
Flows down the stairway,
His baritone cries rising and falling.
Over and over, the full octaves."

And she goes on to mark the full-throated human experience, placing her 42 poems into these sections: "Broken Places," "The Garden," "Carving the Hollow," and finally, "Piano in the Vineyard." In every poem Janzen is utterly conscious of the unspeakable wonder and terror of being alive.

Copyright 2004 Good Books.